Commandos answer SOS from Saudi, Indian vessels, scare off pirates

NEW DELHI: In dramatic action on the high seas, an Indian warship with its armed helicopter and elite marine commandos repulsed in quick succession attempts made by different bands of gun-toting pirates to hijack a Saudi and a Mumbai-based merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia on Tuesday morning.INS Tabar, a Talwar-class guided-missile stealth frigate, was cruising in the Gulf of Aden at about 10 am when it got a frantic distress call from Saudi Arabian chemical and oil carrier NCC Tihama.Tihamas call said two to three high-speed boats, with several armed men, were trying to hijack the ship which was headed westwards. An armed Chetak helicopter, with four marine commandos, was immediately launched from INS Tabar, said a senior Navy officer.Even as the Chetak hovered over Tihama, the marine commandos opened fire with their automatic weapons at the pirates trying to board the Saudi tankship after surrounding it. Deterred by the fire, the pirates promptly turned tail and fled in their speedboats into Somali waters.It was around this time10.30 am or sowhen the Chetak was still in the air, that INS Tabar received another SOS call. This time, the message was that Indian merchant vessel Jag Arnav ��� which is owned by the Mumbai-based Great Eastern Company and was eastward bound after transiting through the Suez Canal a few days earlier ��� was being ambushed by another band of pirates in two boats about 60 nautical miles east of Aden.The Chetak was then diverted towards Jag Arnavs position, about 25 nautical miles away from INS Tabars location, with instructions to Tihama to follow the Indian frigate for safety.There was no need to fire even warning shots this time. Seeing the helicopter approach Jag Arnav, which had a 25-member crew, the pirates promptly jettisoned their hijack plans and sped away, said the officer.INS Tabar then escorted the 38,265-tonne Jag Arnav ��� which was carrying a consignment of barley from Odessa (Russia) to Jubail (Saudi Arabia) ��� to safety. Many of the crew members on board Jag Arnav are from Mumbai.When the master noticed a couple of boats following the ship, he sent an SMS to INS Tabar, which immediately swung into the rescue act, said Anjali Kumar, corporate communications chief of Great Eastern.Lauding the near-simultaneous operations carried out by his force, Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said, Piracy is a crime which all men of war are required to combat at all times.Indian naval ships operating in piracy-infested areas are always in a high state of alert and have the capability to intervene by air and ship-borne weapons. Their mandate is to ensure that the safety of our sovereign assets is maintained, he added.Indian warships, as reported earlier by TOI, have been patrolling the Gulf of Aden since last month to protect Indian merchant vessels transiting through this vital trade route and strategic choke-point from pirates.The decision to deploy warships in the region was taken by the government after Somali pirates hijacked Japanese-owned Stolt Valor on September 15. The fate of the 18 Indians on board Stolt Valor, however, still hangs in the balance, with the pirates demanding a ransom upwards of $2.5 million to free them.Operating mainly from the Somali ports of Eyl and Hobyo, pirates have created havoc for international shipping, having attacked 83 ships since January andhijacking 33 of them.Despite increased cooperation among different navies, with even taskforces from the US and the European Union operating in the region, the pirates have continued their attacks with impunity. In the latest incident, a Philippines chemical tanker was seized near Somalia on Monday.India, too, is contributing its might to deter piracy by patrolling the normal route followed by Indian flagships during passage from Salalah (Oman) to Aden (Yemen) as well as by coordinating with other foreign navies.

The problem, however, is that while Indian warships can patrol the Gulf of Aden, they cannot enter the territorial waters of Somalia, where the 18 Indians are being held hostage, since it would contravene UN Security Council resolution 1816 as well as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).The UNSC resolution 1816, adopted on June 2, authorises only states cooperating with Somalias transitional government to enter its territorial waters���for a period of six months���to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery by all necessary means. India, at present, has no such agreement with Somalia.The Gulf of Aden provides access to the Suez Canal through which a sizeable portion of Indias trade flows. Effective measures to counter piracy have become crucial since as much as 90% by volume and 77% by value of Indias foreign trade transits the seas, said an officer.